EN: We love to travel! But anyone who has ever spent 10+ hours on a plane, knows how tough long distance flights can be. Even for frequent travelers, the time spent at 36.000 ft can be exhausting and draining. The body has to deal with little sleep, bad air, swelling in the legs, lots of bacteria and loss of fluid due to the cabin pressure. Not the funnest environment.

We both travel frequently for work and privately. Kathi just spent a lot of time in-flight for her honeymoon to Tanzania and the Seychelles in September, while Vicky spent the better part of her weekend on a 24-hour journey to Australia. Over the years, we have learned a thing or two when it comes to tips for long flights and wanted to share our personal top 5 with you today.

Hydrate: This is always the most important to us – no matter on short or long flights. The body loses a lot of fluid when traveling and it is super important to replenish the lost water in order not to feel sluggish. Try to stay away from coffee and alcohol and stick to herbal teas (we bring our own bags onboard) or plain water, no gas. Also, the skin and eyes also dries out a lot during travels, so we always have our favorite moisturizers, a nourishing mask, some eye drops and hydrating patches in our carry-on

TakeIt Off! We rarely leave the house with a completely bare face, but when we travel we always take our make-up off, latest by the time we board the plane. We bring a small bottle of micellar water, some cotton pads and our daily moisturizer as a mini in-flight beauty routine. This will help your skin look fresh and clean upon arrival. And don’t forget to take your contacts out as well.

Eat Right! Due to the fact that the cabin pressure lets us taste about 30% less than usual, airplane food is generally overly salty and stuffed with MSG. We find it best to nourish our bodies by eating right, even when traveling. It is not as hard as you would think. We bring fresh fruit, nuts, healthy protein and raw bars and sometimes even fresh salads or instant porridge on board. You stomach will thank you for it!

Work! One of the easiest ways to pass time (aside form watching a movie or two, of course) is to work. Most long distance flights now a days offer wifi for a small charge (hello company expenses) and we like to plan ahead by leaving a few items on our to-do list to keep us busy during the flight. The in-flight wifi may not be the fastest out there, but it’ll do for a few simple tasks. We usually spend the time writing emails, editing photos or videos and preparing texts for upcoming blogposts.

Sleep! Unfortunately we do not belong to the group of people who can sleep anywhere, anytime. But with a little help from our friends, we can get a few hours of sleep onboard. We usually try to sleep in accordance to the time zone we are traveling to, to make the jetlag less severe. Also, a sleeping pill like Calmaben (prescription free) can help you snooze. A big sweater, scarf of blanket over the head as well as a sleeping mask and ear plugs help zone out the rest of the cabin. Last but not least, a calming playlist on Spotify or a bit of sleep meditation can also help.

What are your tips for long flights? We’d love to know, simply leave a comment below!